Gregor and the Prophecy of Loss
by xthe beastx
Summary: All in all, one will be lost, But, it may be switched, at another’s cost. Will they be together? Or will one be lost forever. The best answer is hard to come across, But such is the way, of the prophecy of loss.
1. The note

Well, this is my first attempt at writing a fanfic for The Underland Chronicles. I hope you all enjoy it. Please review if you think it's good or if you have some advice/helpful criticism for me. Thanks!

Here is a basic disclaimer. Okay, obviously I do not own anything in The Underland Chronicles; they belong to their author respectively. I do not take credit for anything in this story except for the plot, and any characters that I may add to it.

* * *

Chapter One

"No! It wasn't my fault! I did everything I could!" Gregor yelled at the council.

"Gregor the Overlander, we find that you are to blame for the death of Queen Luxa, and therefore, we sentence you to death," was the response of one of the council women.

"But I'm telling you, there was nothing I could do!" yelled Gregor desperately.

"Overlander, calm yourself! There is no use in arguing anymore," replied the same council woman with a glare that chilled Gregor to the bone. "You are just worsening your position!"

With that, Gregor was taken away by two huge guards, dressed in armor. He felt the rager side of him flare up, but they had his arms and tied already and they were much bigger and stronger than him. He felt just like he had when Solovant's guards had taken him away to the dungeon as he was helplessly dragged to the edge of a cliff. At the edge he gave one last pleading look at his executioners before they ceremoniously threw him off. There he was, falling. Memories of jumping off the cliff when he killed King Gorger came flooding back. The horrible dread came flooding back. Without even thinking about it he shouted for Ares' name, but of course, they was no reply. Gregor's life flashed before his eyes and he knew that he was alone, with no one to help him. Alone, to plummet to his death.

_Smack_! Gregor quickly grabbed his face as he sat up on the floor of his room. His pajamas were soaked in sweat, or what he hoped was sweat (ha ha sorry had to add that) and he had fallen on his face the hardwood floor of his tiny room.

"Huh…. What? It…it was all a dream…. But, it was all so vivid. Oh, well."

It had been only about three months since Gregor had left the Underland. His parents decided to stay in New York, mostly because they knew that if they moved to Virginia, Gregor would lose the few friends he had left and probably never make more for a long time. Gregor's grandmother had died in the hospital about two months ago. He was sad to see her go, but he knew that she didn't have much to live for, since she would be bedridden for the rest of her life.

Gregor's parents sent him back to school as soon as they felt he was ready to return. Gregor just went through the classes without much thought, he barely passed pulling C's and C-'s. He practically had no social life; he would occasionally hang out with Larry and Angelina, his two best friends, when they invited him to something, trying not to be rude. But, other than that, he basically just kept to himself.

All of this time, his mind had been on one thing: the Underland. He just couldn't get it out of his mind. All of his friends there…. True friends, like Mareth, Vikus, Aurora, Nike, Howard, Nerissa, and of course...Luxa. She was Gregor's first and only love. She was constantly on his mind. He often wondered how she was holding up after the war. She was queen of the city of Regalia, well not quite queen. She would be queen when she turned sixteen, but even so, she was basically queen already with all the responsibilities they gave her since the council had died in the recently fought war.

Gregor would have done anything to go back to the Underland, but he knew that if he went down, his parents would find out. If they did, his mom would flip and then they would move to Virginia for sure. Still, Gregor couldn't help but pass by a certain rock in Central Park twice day on his way to and from school. That one special rock, where he said goodbye to his true love forever…or so he thought. Until one day, when he found a scroll shoved under a corner of it.

* * *

So tell me what you think of it so far! It's my first try and I'm completely making up this story as I go along, but if you people like it, I promise I'll finish it. I've looked a little ahead and some skeleton plots and I think that if this story turns out good enough, I will turn it into a trilogy. So please review and tell me what you think! And yes this is the revised version! So thank my beta ILikeAres! She rules.


	2. Excuse Needed

Yay! Some people actually like my story so far! Sweet. Well, I'm going to try and update pretty often. I can't tomorrow though; don't have any time. Oh, and by the way, sorry if Luxa doesn't talk like she normally does, I'll probably miss a lot of the Underland way of talking, but oh well. So here is chapter two!

* * *

Chapter Two

Gregor almost missed the note. It was a dark green scroll that was under a corner of the rock. His friends must have put it there, knowing that only he would pay close enough attention to that particular rock to notice it there.

Gregor cautiously walked up to the rock ahead of him, his heart beating a mile a minute. There was a scroll! A note from his friends! He gingerly pulled the dark green parchment out from under the rock and just stared at it for a moment. "Sweet!" he yelled, unable to hide his enthusiasm. Several pedestrians that were passing by turned and stared at him. He turned bright red to the tips of his ears. He decided that this was probably not the best place to read it so he starting to walk quickly back to his apartment.

Gregor's quick walking soon grew to sprinting. His apartment was about a mile and a half away, but it didn't matter to him. He ran through the streets with the warm spring breeze in his face. He didn't mind the fact that the wind only made it hotter out, he was too excited to care. As he was racing down the sidewalks, his hope began to drain, though. He thought what his mother would say about the note. His mother might not let him go down into the Underland. In fact he was pretty sure she wouldn't even let him go near the laundry room. But then… there had to be hope. It was one of the things Vikus, one of his favorite Underlanders had always taught him to keep close. Vikus always had good ideas and morals that he tried to pass to Gregor, he was Luxa's grandfather and the first Underlander Gregor had met that he actually liked when he first fell down the grate so long ago.

Gregor finished climbing the stairs to his apartment. The elevator was broken as usual. He walked, panting, to his door and hesitated for a moment. Finally he pushed it open and walked inside. Gregor's mom, Grace, was in the kitchen washing dishes as he walked by. "How was your day honey?" asked Grace. He said the usual response of "fine," but she didn't miss the smile that he couldn't hide. "Anything special happen today?" she questioned him.

"Nope, just was a good day; no problems with anyone and barely any homework," he said in a rush, running a hand through his thick brown hair nervously. Gregor kept walking, trying to reach his room so he could read the note alone, but was soon stopped by Boots, his three-year-old sister.

"Gregor! Look, I'm a princess!" she squealed, wearing a tiny plastic tiara that his mother must've bought for Boots.

"That's great, Boots, but I gotta go to my room."

"No! Not yet! You have tea party with me, and Temp, and Ares!" Gregor cringed as she said Ares's name. Boots had a little tea party set up on the coffee table in the TV room, with her little plastic toys set up, one of a cockroach, and one of a bat, as Gregor could see.

"Sorry, Boots, but maybe some other ti-," Gregor stopped as he saw Boot's face droop. "Actually, sure Boots. I'd love to have tea with the princess!" Gregor said trying to cheer his little sister up. "I see you got another bat!" he said, thinking of the bat Boot's gave him that he kept under his pillow.

"Yes! Mommy and me went to the toy store and I got more!" Boots cried gleefully.

"That sounds like fun!" Gregor said. He sat there playing tea party with "princess" Boots for about twenty minutes before she let him excuse himself.

Gregor entered his room and closed the door behind him. He carefully took the scroll out of his pocket and read it to himself.

_Dear Gregor,_

_If you receive this, then that means that you are still here, and have not moved to Virginia. How fare you in the Overland? There are no words to describe how much I have missed you, but things have still been well down here when you left. There has been peace for most of the species down here. Very few rebel outbreaks have happened. I hate to inform you, but it appears that you are needed down here once more. There was a hidden prophecy in the room and we believe that "The Prophecy of Loss" is upon us. Please place a letter to respond to this tomorrow at the same place you found this scroll, about when you would be ready to come down if you are able to. _

_Love,_

_Luxa_

Luxa—just reading her name sent Gregor's heart ablaze. Of course, he wanted to go back down, more than anything else in the world, actually. But there was one problem. He could never get his mom to let him go back down. He sat there and thought for a while. He decided that he would at least right back to her. Gregor started searching through his house for a pen and some paper everywhere. He finally found a pen in one of the kitchen drawers, but he couldn't find paper. He got impatient and took a school book out of his backpack. It was his pre-algebra book, perfect he hated that class. He took some pages in the front that were blank in the back and tore them out. His teacher was gonna flip when he found out that Gregor ripped pages out of the book, but he didn't care. He quickly got to work writing a letter back to Luxa.

_Dear Luxa,_

_Yeah, I'm glad to say that we haven't moved. Everything is going fine up here. I miss all you guys a whole lot. I'm glad to hear that everything has been pretty peaceful after I left. I would love to come down and visit you guys more than anything, even if it means I have to fulfill another prophecy while I'm down there, but there is one problem. My mom would never let me go down there, and even if I snuck down, she would for sure make we move to Virginia when I got back. I'm sorry, I would do anything to see you all again, but I need a way to convince my mom._

_Love,_

_Gregor_

Gregor went through the rest of the day in a daze. The Underland was on his mind. His parents noticed how he was acting and asked if he was ok, but he just replied that he was tired and didn't get a good night sleep the night before.

Before Gregor knew it, it was bedtime. He lay in his bed, wide awake for awhile. After about fifteen minutes, sleep finally overtook him with thoughts of Luxa and all his other friends on his mind.

The next day on the way to school, Gregor tucked his letter under a corner of the roc. He hadn't told anyone about the letter he had received, knowing that his mom would freak out, Lizzie would go crazy excited ranting on about seeing Ripred, and Boots would go insane about Temp. His dad actually might have been ok with it, and probably just as excited as Gregor, but Gregor knew that his mom would find out some how if he told his father. He wished he could convince his mom to let him go down, even just to see his friends once in a while, but there was no chance of that, especially with the fact that there was a prophecy. But Gregor kept Vikus's lesson about always having hope in his mind. He knew there had to be a way.

* * *

Sorry, kind of a lame ending to this chapter, but in the next couple of chapters I'll write the prophecy! Yay! It probably won't be that good though, but whatever. Thank you, everyone who has reviewed! I've tried to take your advice. I won't post another chapter for a couple days probably because I'll be super busy tomorrow. And yes there have been lots of changes thanks to ILikeAres betaing skills. She helps my stories so much so worship her. _Worship her!_


	3. Excuse found

Well, here's chapter three. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed! I'm glad you like my story! Yay! So, here's chapter three! Oh, and a quick note. I think that the council died in the war in the last book, but I don't really remember for sure. I'm going to make reference of their death, but if they didn't die, well, it won't make much a difference because there is a new council.

Ok, disclaimer. I do NOT own The Underland Chronicles; it would be sweet if I did, but I don't. The only things I own in my stories are the plots and any characters that I add myself.

* * *

Chapter Three

Luxa was stuck at another boring council meeting. At first after the war, the one thing that relieved her somewhat was that there was no council. It saved a lot of waiting for important decisions, and they also were against many of the things she wanted to do, like visit the Overland one day, for instance. But now, there was a new council elected. She despised this one even more. They seemed even stricter and cold hearted than the last one. They had her busy almost every wakeful hour of her day with her queenly duty and such.

They kept talking about trade and economics with the spinners, nibbles, and gnawers. Of course, this was of little interest to Luxa; they had a steady flow of trade with the spinners, trading handmade goods that only humans could make, for their silk, which was made into bandages, clothing, and any other cloth like material needed there. The gnawers and the nibbles didn't have much trading with the humans, but they did what they could to help keep their treaties strong. Luxa had little interest in this frivolous talk.

As soon as the meeting was over, Luxa gave a sharp, high pitched whistle and waited a couple minutes. Aurora came shooting in through a window near by. Luxa mounted Aurora and they headed up to one of the entrances to the Overland. They made daily trips up to that rock to check for a response from Gregor. Luxa feared that he had moved to Virginia and wouldn't get it, but today as they carefully peeked at the corners of the rock, her heart skipped a beat. There she saw a folded piece of paper. She quickly grabbed it and read it to herself. Aurora waited patiently while Luxa read it. Luxa first was extremely happy, and then her face turned to concern and disappointment, then finally to deep thinking. "Well?!" asked Aurora, still waiting to see what it said.  
"Oh this is not good, we must think of something" Luxa mumbled to herself.

"Um… Can you read it to me?" asked Aurora a little timidly.

"We need to find an excuse for him," Luxa mumbled to herself, nervously twirling a strand of silver hair.

"_Just read me the damn letter_!" screamed Aurora, sick of waiting

"Oh, excuse me? My apologies, Aurora. It tells that Gregor is still in New York City, for now. He would like to visit us, but cannot, for his mother would never allow him to come back. Especially because there is a prophecy involved," said Luxa sheepishly.

"Oh… why do you not try to get his mother to let him come down for 'The Day of the Nibblers'?" Aurora replied, calmed down to her normal self.

"That is a wonderful idea, Aurora!" Luxa exclaimed. The two set off back to the castle where they could right another message on a scroll to Gregor about their idea.

* * *

Gregor spent the last day thinking of some sort of excuse he could use to get down to the Underland, but he couldn't come up with one. Well, he couldn't come up with one that his mom would buy. She had always been stubborn when it came to the Underland.

Gregor almost forgot to check the rock after school, but he took a quick glance at it as he walked by. He spotted the gray edge of a scroll under it and rushed over to grab it. There were still a lot of people around, but luckily, he did not embarrass himself this time. He decided it would be best to take it home to read like the last note. When he got home, he found a note on the fridge from his mom saying that she went with his sisters to buy some clothes from the GoodWill. Gregor's dad was asleep on the couch so Gregor quietly tiptoed across the living room to his bedroom, being sure not to wake him up. When he got in his room, he practically tore the scroll open to read it.

_Dear Gregor,_

_I am glad to hear that you fare well and are still in New York. I have an idea that you can use to try and convince your mother to let you come visit. In five days, we are having "The Day of the Nibblers" festival. Ripred said that it is what you Overlanders call a holiday. It is a very simple festival; young children are out in the arena playing games with the young nibblers and the older ones talk together with the older nibblers. There will also be a huge feast. I will have fliers waiting at this entrance all throughout that day if you can come. I hope you can come, because there is nothing I would love more than to be able to see you again._

_Love,_

_Luxa_

Gregor was excited when he first read the letter, but after he thought about it for a while, he knew his mom would never go for it, even if it was just for the day for a holiday. It was better than any other Excuse he could come up with, but she didn't like or trust anything or anyone in the Underland, but he decided that it couldn't hurt to ask her anyway. He decided to wait until after supper when Lizzie and Boots went to sleep. He didn't want them to try and go too; that would only hurt his already tiny chances of going.

Supper seemed like hours and hours to Gregor, and worse yet, the movie "High School Musical" was on, and Gregor's parents let Lizzie and Boots stay up half an hour later than they usually went to bed.

Finally, Boots and Lizzie went to bed, so Gregor went over to the TV room to talk to his parents. He went up to his mother and started. "Hey mom…. I need to talk to you about something."

"Sure. What is it, baby?" Grace replied.

"Well, it's just that…" Gregor took a deep breath and decided to let it all out in one go. "MomIgotthisnotefromLuxayouseeandshewantedtoknowifIcouldgodowntotheUnderlandforadayforaholidaytheyholddowntherecalled  
TheDayoftheNibblerandIjustwantedtoknowifIcouldgopleaseplease?"

_Mom I got this not from Luxa you see and she wanted to know if I could go down the Underland for a day, for a holiday they hold down there called 'The Day of the Nibbler, and I just wanted to know if I could go. Please please?_

Gregor took a deep breath after getting all of that out. Grace just sat there wide eyed for a moment. His father had a worried look on his face, then looked at Grace.

Finally Grace spoke "Gregor…. I'm sorry, baby, but th-," she stopped mid sentence as she saw the look on his face. She thought for a moment and then said this with a frown, "Listen, Gregor, I'll let you go down under one condition."

Gregor's face showed pure surprise as he answered excitedly, "Sure! Anything!"

Grace took a deep breath then said, "I'm going down with you, and you're not allowed to leave my sight. Okay, Gregor?"

"Sure!" he replied, hiding the disappointment he felt. There was no way he could help the Underlanders with the prophecy with his mom following him everywhere, and more importantly, he wouldn't be able to be with Luxa alone. "But still," he thought, "at least I can still go down and see all my friends."

* * *

The next five days were the longest in Gregor's life. They crawled by in what seemed second by painful second. He would lay awake in his bed every night, unable to sleep. School was the worst. He couldn't stay focused at all and kept spacing out. He had almost gotten a detention from a teacher for it. His homework took forever because he couldn't focus. Finally, it was the night of the fourth day. He stayed awake in his bed for hours thinking about tomorrow. Finally sleep took him over.

When Gregor woke up, he was all set for the day, he had set out a nice pair of clothes (not too nice, just in case they needed to be burned or got ruined). Grace had made a big breakfast and made him eat his slowly and carefully even though he almost choked from eating quickly when she wasn't looking several times.

They made their way down to the park and found the rock. They had to wait a while, making sure that there was absolutely no one near by, and then they opened the rock and started stepping down. There steps were surprisingly neat and similar. Obviously they were crafted and not natural. The walls were blank with the exception of a few touch holders that hadn't been used in ages. Gregor turned on the flashlight that he brought, mostly for his mom since he could use echolocation. They made their way down the path a little ways until Gregor saw a golden bat he recognized standing on the path. And in front the bat was a young Underland girl, with beautiful flowing hair, that seemed to almost be a shining, molten silver color that went down to about her shoulder blades. But the thing that left him awestruck the most was her shiny violet eyes that seemed to make his heart melt. They both walked forward and just stared at each other for what seemed like years, and Gregor wished it could have gone on like that for an eternity.

Gregor was finally able to choke out, "Hey Luxa,"

* * *

YAY! Gregor and Luxa finally see each other again! I'm so happy, free cookies for all my reviewers! Oh yeah, I think next chapter I'm going to make up the prophecy, probably right on the spot too, so it might suck a little bit, but whatever. Lol I just got to say that it cracked me up when I made Aurora flip out on Luxa like that since she's usually a pretty quiet bat. Holy crap, I just noticed this chapter is like 1,800 words! Yay for my longest chapter yet! Please review guys! I'll update over the weekend! I also want to thank my reviewers again for being so supportive; yeah I'm kind of making a big deal over six reviews, but still, thanks guys. Thank ILikeAres for helping me with all my chapters I've already posted! She helps a ton!


	4. Enter Ripred

Ok, first off I want to apologize to all my awesome readers and my super awesome reviewers

Ok, first off I want to apologize to all my awesome readers and my super awesome reviewers. Yes, I said I would add a chapter over the weekend, but I have been super busy lately; working all the time, hanging out with friends, trying to get at least like 6 hours of sleep a night lol. So, I guess here it is. I don't know when the next chapter will come out, but hopefully soon.

Like I've said before, I do NOT own The Underland Chronicles or any of the characters in them. They belong to Suzanne Collins.

* * *

Chapter Four

Gregor had imagined seeing Luxa again since the day he left, but the pure bliss he felt just from seeing her was almost more than he could handle. They had held each others gaze for a while until Gregor's mom interrupted them.

"Well, now, you two, shouldn't we start heading down, now?" Grace said with a small, suspicious look in her eye piercing blue eyes.

"Oh, uh, yes, let us take Aurora here back to Regalia" said Luxa blushing slightly as she stood taller and brushed herself off.

All three of them fit on Aurora's back. It was a little tight, but not too bad… That was, except for Gregor's mom. She was almost as pale as Luxa when the bat took off. She was shaking like a leaf, and hanging on so tight that Aurora started wincing a little bit. Grace would have started complaining and asking for another way of travel if it weren't for the fact that they were right above the Waterway.

They flew through mazes of caverns. They all looked the same to Grace and even Gregor didn't really remember the way to Regalia, but Aurora and Luxa seemed to know where they were going. After making one last sharp left turn they saw the palace looming up in the distance. Aurora gracefully came gliding in through an upper window to the palace. Grace asked to be taken to the nearest couch or any kind of furniture so that she could lie down for a bit after her experience. Luxa gladly had the nearest guard escort her. Gregor and Luxa were finally alone so they could talk, and maybe more.

"Hey, Luxa," Gregor said, "I just wanted to tell you how much that I—"

"Well, if it isn't the great big warrior, come back!" a sarcastic voice came from behind them. Both Gregor and Luxa jumped at the sudden voice, but they both knew right away who it belonged too.

"Hey, Ripred, what are you doing here?" asked Gregor, a little annoyed that he had interrupted his moment with Luxa.

"Well, first off, boy, it's now _King_ Ripred. Second, not very good for me today. There are many nibblers visiting Regalia today for the festival, but many of them, especially the older ones, are very wary of me since I am a rat."

"That doesn't make sense!" Gregor exclaimed, "There's a treaty now and the rats, humans, and mice are all at peace. Plus you were also one of the rats who helped save them all!"

"Yes, that is true, but they older ones have seen too much in their time. They will never trust the rats, doesn't matter if it is a so called 'good' or 'bad' rat; we are all the same to them. I don't blame them after all that they have been through," Ripred replied quite seriously.

"I still don't think that it's fair," Gregor scoffed.

"Well, you can forget that. It's a festival we should all go out there and have fun. I know I will; I threatened all the chefs that I would put them in a pot and eat them all if they didn't make enough shrimp and cream sauce to fill me up. I think I should just leave you two love birds so you can get back to ogling each other," Ripred snickered slunk out of the room.

"Shut up, Ripred!" Gregor called after him, but Ripred didn't hear. Gregor shrugged and turned back to Luxa.

"Hey, I just wanted to tell you how much I've missed you. I've thought about you everyday, and I just wanted to tell you again that I l—"

"_Overlander_! You have come for the festival!" A voice rang out from behind them again. This time it took Gregor a second to realize who it was, but by then it was too late. He was enveloped in a huge and painful bear hug by Mareth.

"Hey, Mareth, what's up?" Gregor managed to gasp.

"Uh, do you mean the fliers or the rocks? I am not sure I quite understand or know 'what's up'," Mareth replied.

"I mean, how are you?" Gregor said.

"Oh, I fare well, thank you. How have you been up there in, what is it called, New York?" Mareth responded.

"Yeah, that's it. I don't know, it's been okay up there. I've missed you guys a lot." Gregor answered.

"Oh, wait, Gregor, Luxa, the ceremonies are about to begin, let us hurry down!" exclaimed Mareth.

"But waited I wanted to talk to Lu—"

"Sorry, but we must hurry," Mareth said, cutting off Gregor again.

They took their bats down the arena. There they were met a by giant crowds of children and young nibblers running around playing games. Gregor and Luxa watched the younger ones play and laughed a little at their antics. They joined in on some of the children songs that they all sang, even though Gregor could only come in on the choruses after he had heard them a couple times. They even had a dance like the one on Hazard's birthday and Gregor got to dance with Luxa again. He was having a blast there, it seemed like such simple things that would bore other overland boys his age, but just being with his friends made him ecstatic.

Gregor just finished a dance with Luxa, when a hand slowly reached behind him and grabbed his shoulder.

* * *

Yeah, yeah, sorry about this crappy cliffhanger, but I'm tired, it's late, I'm in a bad mood, and I rushed through this so it's overall not very good. I'm sorry that I didn't fit the prophecy in this chapter, but I didn't feel up to making it up. I want to thank Prophetess again for being my beta, and all my reviewers. Please review more to take my bad mood away. When I'm in good moods, I right more. Oh, and one last thing. I will update this chapter in a day or two, I'm waiting for Prophetess to beta this, I sent it to her yesterday, she hasn't gotten it yet, and I didn't want to keep you guys waiting so this is the rough draft. Yes this chapter has been revised thanks to ILikeAres.


	5. Trouble

Well guys, sorry I don't update as much, but I'm super busy

Well guys, sorry I don't update as much, but I'm super busy. Hope you enjoy this, it's not that great, because I'm writing it all as I go off the top of my head.

I do NOT own the Underland Chronicles or any of their characters. They all belong to Suzanne Collins and are probably copy written by her.

* * *

Chapter Five

"Where have you been?" cried a familiar voice behind Gregor, trembling with emotion. He whirled around to face his mother. His face went pale. She looked angry enough to explode.

"Oh… um, Mom, I thought that you were resting and I, uh… didn't want to… disturb you?" Gregor tried to come up with an excuse, but honestly he completely forgot about her.

"Listen, Gregor, do you remember our agreement? You can't just wonder off wherever you want! Remember that I have to keep an eye on you twenty-four seven. I'm sorry, but if you pull a stunt like that again we are going to leave early!" Grace snapped.

Gregor turned red. It was embarrassing to be chided by his mother in front of all his friends, but he decided to apologize. He would do anything to not have to go back up.

"I'm sorry mom, it won't happen again," Gregor said.

"Good, but don't let it happen. You have to tell me everywhere you go to, and when you go to it. You are not to leave my sight again!" grace said still steaming a little bit.

That's when Mareth came walking up. "Luxa, Overlanders! Come, the feast is about to begin!" Gregor was happy for any excuse to change the subject so they all headed to the middle of the arena. They had some sort of tarps set up in an almost maze like fashion, but there was enough room for everyone to have a seat and have some food in the "outdoors". Gregor figured they did this because it would be too hard to fly all of the nibblers into the palace to eat.

Gregor and the others started eating the feast, and it was just incredible.There were so many strange and new foods to Gregor, but they were all delicious. They had a weird sweet tasting purple drink. Gregor asked what it was made of, and Luxa told him a strange plant name that he didn't know, so he decided to leave it at that. There was also bread made from special grains, some of their precious spare vegetables they had down there, a lot of meats, especially fish, four massive cauldrons filled with shrimp and cream sauce, with a scared and shaking chef next to them watching Ripred eat, and there was also a special type of ice cream like desert. Apparently it was made from the milk of some of the creatures down there. Gregor shuddered at the thought of eating a giant creature's milk, but he decided it wasn't too weird considering that people in the Overland drank milk from cows all the time.

After they ate for a while, they went back to the arena. Gregor was talking to Luxa about the Overland, Ripred was there asking Grace about Lizzie and giving her advice on what to do with panic attacks, and there were many children and nibblers running around and playing. That was when Vikus

"Vikus! Long time no see!" exclaimed Gregor excited to see his old friend.

"Greetings, Gregor! It is a great pleasure to see you again," Vikus replied in his usual diplomatic tone. He was looking better than he did when Gregor had last seen him. He still had a slight limp on his left side, Gregor figured it was from the effects of the heart attack he had during his last visit. Vikus seemed ecstatic to see him.

"I am quite glad you were able to come. Here, we must discuss the pro… Luxa, are you feeling well?" Vikus asked. Luxa was shaking her hands and head trying to warn Vikus not to bring up the prophecy, but stopped when he noticed her before the others saw her.

"No, I am well, Vikus," Luxa replied giving him a big wink. Vikus, oblivious as ever, kept going. "Alright, then. So, Gregor, you must come with me so we can discuss this new prophecy; it causes much worry to me."

Luxa just stood there perplexed; Ripred had a look on his face that showed that he was trying not to laugh out loud at Gregor; and Gregor himself slowly turned his head, shaking, and looked at his mother. Grace just stood there wide eyed, and Vikus was in the back looking around wondering if he had said something wrong.

* * *

Yeah, yeah, short chapter I know, and crappy too, but deal with it lol. As always I love my reviewers! You guys are awesome and motivate me to keep writing! I will honestly try to update more often, but we will see what I can do.


	6. The prophecy

Well, here's chapter 6, I'm in a bad mood, I haven't been updated often, and I need a beta… deal with it. Sorry, today sucked, but I'm gonna write…er… type anyways. I don't own any part of the Underland Chronicles, the only thing I own here is the plot, so don't steal it. Suzanne Collins owns the series, so yeah. Okay, people, I updated the prophecy to have a repeating stanza so that the name of my story matches up better. Hope you like the add-on.

Chapter Six

Grace was speechless. Her skin turned ashen and then bright red in anger. Gregor could tell by the look on her face and the fire in her eyes that she was not happy.

Finally Grace was able to utter a few words. "Gregor… we are leaving… _Now_!"

"But Mom! Wait, I need to-," Gregor was cut off Grace.

"No buts! We are leaving and that's final! I won't have my baby down here again getting caught up in another crazy prophecy!" Grace told Gregor looking ready to explode. Gregor had to stay down there though.

Gregor looked pleadingly at his friends as his mom started to drag him away. It was a bit childish for Gregor to fight back like that, but he was desperate to stay, but it was to no avail. Grace just dragged him on forward, she was surprisingly strong when angry.

Then Ripred spoke up, "Listen, Grace, you don't understand how much we need your son right now. I must _insist_ that you let him stay to fulfill the prophecy."

"No! I'm not letting this horrible place take my baby again!" Grace cried out on the verge of tears.

Ripred gave a sigh and then two sharp whistles. Two guards came jogging up and then stood at attention next to him. "Heh, heh, heh, it's good to be king," Ripred smirked, then spoke to the guards, "Would you two please escort Grace here to the dungeons? Give her the best cell you have, check on her and serve her often; we don't want to keep her prisoner, but we have no other choice, but to force her to stay so the "mighty" warrior here can help us with our little dilemma here."

Grace was carried off, screaming and shouting, by the guards. Gregor was about to go after her and started yelling at the guards to let her go, but Ripred silenced him. "Listen, boy, she is going to stay in the dungeon, but her stay will only be until you leave to fulfill the prophecy, and she will have the best of care, even in her cell. It will be much nicer there for her then it was for you."

Gregor was about to argue with Ripred, but he knew deep down that he was right. There was no other way for him to stay, and if he didn't there was no telling what doom would befall Regalia if he didn't carry out the prophecy.

"Well, I am sincerely sorry about your mother, Gregor, but we had no choice. If we are finished here, I believe Gregor should have a look at the prophecy," Vikus spoke up with a frown on his face which brought out the wrinkles from the years of stress on his face.

The group walked into the prophecy room together. About 15 minutes later after walking a ways, a thought suddenly came to Gregor's mind. "Hey guys, why didn't you tell me there were other prophecies about me during my last visit?"

"Ah, yes, I was wondering when you would ask that," Vikus replied. "You see, this prophecy was hidden in the room."

"Where was it?" asked Gregor, wondering where in the world a prophecy could hide unseen for hundreds of years until now.

"Right here," said Vikus, moving a small, loose block in the corner of the walls. On the other side was the prophecy, chiseled out in the smallest of writing.

_All in all, one will be lost,_

_But, it may be switched, at another's cost._

_Will they be together?_

_Or will one be lost forever._

_- - -_

_The best answer is hard to come across,_

_But such is the way, of the prophecy of loss._

_The warrior has passed away?_

_That is not what fate has to say._

_- - -_

_The warrior has just been born, to grow stronger yet._

_But, shall he grow? Or will he let his death stay set?_

_The choice is his, and his to face._

_Will he let his love's light fade,_

_Or give his own, in her place._

_- - -_

_Or will he be able to save them both?_

_To do this he must go through much growth._

_All in all, one will be lost,_

_But, it may be switched, at another's cost._

_- - -_

_Will they be together?_

_Or will one be lost forever._

_The best answer is hard to come across,_

_But such is the way, of the prophecy of loss._

_- - -_

_Four fliers, one crawler, and three killers you must take,_

_Two gnawers and one spinner, but all your lives are at stake._

_Head to the fire lands, enter the Queen you must._

_There you find your true enemy, will you succeed? Or burn to dust?_

_- - -_

_All in all, one will be lost,_

_But, it may be switched, at another's cost._

_Will they be together?_

_Or will one be lost forever._

_The best answer is hard to come across,_

_But such is the way, of the prophecy of loss._

_- - -_

_The warrior must be prepared to make his choice fast,_

_If he does not, then surely none shall last._

_So what is your choice warrior? What is your choice of?_

_Friends, enemies, yourself, or your love?_

_- - -_

_All in all, one will be lost,_

_But, it may be switched, at another's cost._

_Will they be together?_

_Or will one be lost forever._

_The best answer is hard to come across,_

_But such is the way, of the prophecy of loss. _

* * *

Okay, so yeah, short, sucky chapter. Threw together the prophecy off the top of my head so yeah, I know it has a lot of problems. So yeah, more reviews equals more frequent updates. Oh and thank my sweet awesome beta, ILikeAres. She rules!


	7. Enter Eric

Hey! First off, you should all check out the prophecy in the last chapter! I added a cool repeated stanza to make it more fitting for the title of my story. Read it! DO IT NOW! Well, I must say that you reviewers just made my day! I was having a crappy week, but your reviews just put a smile on my face. So yeah, I'm going to add another chapter right away for you guys. Like I said, I make these up off the top of my head, I only got the big picture in mind so don't be mad if it's not that great. Oh, and I do not own The Underland Chronicles, they belong to Suzanne Collins, the only thing in my story that I own is the plot.

* * *

Chapter Seven

Gregor stood there, staring at the prophecy. He had already gone through so many of them, see too many friends die, and here was another one, where if he didn't succeed the whole group that went would die. He shuddered at the thought of going through another journey.

Everyone just stood silent after Vikus had read the prophecy for a while, until he finally spoke up. "Well, I believe the best thing to do is take this one line at a time."

They began going through the prophecy, attempting to decode it together.

_The warrior has passed away?_

_That is not what fate has to say._

"Well, that's pretty obvious," said Gregor, running a hand through his hair. "It means that I'm still alive as the warrior and I'm going to have to fight again." He sighed loudly, though in truth, he was just happy for this excuse, to be in the Underland again.

"Yes, that is what we have believed when we went through it earlier," replied Vikus.

_The warrior has just been born, to grow stronger yet._

_But, shall he grow? Or will he let his death stay set?_

"It seems that you are going to become even more powerful than you have been in past battles, but also that there is chance that your death may be real," said Vikus remorsefully. He didn't like the fact that Gregor, who had become close to him, almost like a grandson, would have to put his life in danger.

"Well, I should hope that he gets better!" snorted Ripred. "He probably hasn't fought in a long time since he has been in the Overland. Plus he's only been down here for a day so I bet that pup could barely take on a single cutter!"

Gregor gave Ripred a glare, but he knew it was partly true. He hadn't been practiced, mostly in fear of hurting someone, but he also knew Ripred was being sarcastic about the cutter deal. Even if he wasn't a good fighter alone, his rager side could kick in, giving him a huge boost.

_The choice is his, and his to face._

_Will he let his love's light fade,_

_Or give his own, in her place._

At these phrases, Gregor and Luxa gave each other a look and blushed, but at the same time looked worried. Ripred snorted in disgust, and Vikus just stood there with a slight smile and a twinkle in his eye. It was at that moment that Gregor was really happy that his mom was in the dungeons, because she would flip out if she knew about him and Luxa. Especially since the prophecy seemed to call for the death of one of them.

"Well," Vikus spoke up finally after a few minutes of awkward silence, "I believe that Gregor has an important decision to make on this journey. And from these lines it appears someone will die, or so it would seem until you read the next phrase."

_Or will he be able to save them both?_

_To do this he must go through much growth._

"Right here," commented Vikus, "is where there is hope. Where there is life there is hope, as I often say. It seems that Gregor could be able to fulfill this prophecy with no death on our side, but it appears that he needs to be much stronger and wiser than he is right now."

Gregor sighed. It looked like Ripred was going to train him hard. He remembered how his echolocation lessons used to go. Ripred would get impatient and insult Gregor, then Gregor would get frustrated and quit trying, which made Ripred even more angry and impatient. It was not going to be easy to prepare for this journey.

_Four fliers, one crawler, and three killers you must take,_

_Two gnawers and one spinner, but all your lives are at stake._

"This is an important part here," Ripred spoke up. "We have already decided on most the creatures that you will take except the spinner. Temp will be the Crawler, and Lapblood and I shall be the gnawers. The four fliers are Aurora, Nike, Luxio, and Megara." Ripred looked at Gregor and decided to tell him about the two new fliers that he did not know. "Luxio is a pure white male bat. He is a very strong and large flier; he is almost as big as Ares was. He is even strong enough to carry me if need be. Megara, however, is a much smaller and weaker female bat. You will recognize her by her white fur, with black stripes all along her back and wings."

Gregor nodded in understanding and a twinge of remorse at the mention of Ares's name. This was going to be the first journey that Gregor had ever gone on without Ares. He felt responsible for Ares's death. People often told him it was the Bane that killed him, but in reality, he took the responsibility upon himself. He made a stupid decision during the battle telling Ares to dive in closer. He had never forgiven himself for it. Ares always had, and always would have a special place in his heart. Then Ripred continued.

"Obviously, you can tell by the bonds, that only Howard and Luxa will accompany you, boy. We figured that Howard should come, because you will probably need medical personnel, and I figured that Luxa must be your _loooooove,_" Ripred said mockingly. Gregor just glared at him, as did Luxa

"Here's the problem," said Ripred. "I think that the council will not like it if they find out that Luxa and you two are supposedly in love according the prophecy, so I decided to keep it secret that she is coming. But that means that the council will want a third person to come, and that is why I found Eric here."

"Greetings," came a deep and masculine voice behind them all from the door. Everyone except Ripred jumped a little in surprise and turned around to see who it belonged to. There stood Eric, who looked to be about seventeen years old. He had the usual sort of long, wavy, silvery white Underlander hair, and he was pretty muscular for his age.

"I will be accompanying you for the beginning of your journey," he said with a smile.

"Yes," said Ripred, "he will leave with Gregor and Howard for the start of the journey, but after traveling with you for three hours, he will split from the group and stay in Ares' cave with his bond until you return. I have ordered one of my soldiers to visit him and bring him food often. During this time, Luxa, you must find a way to sneak off with Aurora and catch up with the others. This shouldn't be a hard task considering how often you sneak off. Alright, now we can continue to the next line."

_Head to the fire lands, enter the Queen you must._

_There you find your true enemy, will you succeed? Or burn to dust?_

"Oh, great," thought Gregor. The Queen was a giant underground volcano Last time he had passed it; it erupted, killing one of his friends, a young bat named Thalia. Thalia was good company; Gregor always had a soft spot for her. She and Hazard were extremely close, they were going to become bonds, until she had died. She was extremely young, especially to go on a quest and always cheerful. She would crack up at any joke Gregor would say, no matter how bad they were.

"It seems that we must return to that wretched land," Luxa said, annoyed.

"Yeah, and if we don't beat our enemy, then it looks like we'll all be burned by the Queen," replied Gregor. There very thought of that massive volcano burning them all alive sent shivers down his spine.

_The warrior must be prepared to make his choice fast,_

_If he does not, then surely none shall last._

"Listen, boy," snarled Ripred, "you better not make any stupid decisions there, because I don't feel like feeling the wrath of the Queen."

_So what is your choice warrior? What is your choice of?_

_Friends, enemies, yourself, or your love?_

"What is this choice I'm supposed to make?!" asked a frustrated Gregor. He didn't want to have to choose between anybody.

"Well, we have yet to figure that out. We believe that we will not know until the time comes," replied Vikus gravely.

"Why would it say 'enemies'? I would never choose my enemies over my friends or Lu— er, I mean, my 'love'," said Gregor, embarrassed that he almost called Luxa his love in front of everyone.

Luxa replied, slightly red from embarrassment, "Gregor, you do not always know who is your friend and who is not. Such as the case was with…" Luxa paused for a moment then continued, "Henry."

"Oh, I guess your right," Gregor said gravely. All the light drained from his face.

"Alright, enough of this, let's get on to the repeating stanza so I can leave and eat some more food," commented Ripred, annoyed.

_All in all, one will be lost,_

_But, it may be switched, at another's cost._

_Will they be together?_

_Or will one be lost forever._

_The best answer is hard to come across,_

_But such is the way, of the prophecy of loss_

"It appears as if no matter what the choice is, one person will be lost. Whether it is a friend, or an enemy, I do not know," Vikus said soberly.

"Yeah, and apparently the one being lost can be switched to another person," said Gregor solemnly.

"It sounds like it is talking about lover boy and his temper-problemed girlfriend here," snickered Ripred. Both Gregor and Luxa gave Ripred icy glares, holding them for several minutes.

"And apparently one may not survive," continued Eric for Ripred. A collective gasp sounded in the room; everyone was surprised Eric was talking. He had been silent the entire time he'd been in there, really."

"Yes, but the best answer would be that none of our friends or allies die, and it appears to be a hard decision to find," said Vikus.

"Yes, well, that just about sums it up. Well, I'm going to leave all you to figure out preparations. I'm going down to eat some more of that shrimp with the cream sauce. Gregor, I want to see you in two hours for training. Go to the usual training place under the palace." And with that Ripred slunk out of the room heading for the kitchens to harass some cooks.

"Ah, yes, I shall go and speak with the council on preparing you all for the journey ahead," said Vikus, and then he left also.

"I believe that I should go inform Howard of what we have discovered in the prophecy, and that plans are being made for the journey," said Eric as he too walked away.

And with all them left, it just left Luxa and Gregor alone in the room.

WOOT!! This is probably my longest chapter yet! I would have posted it last night and have a whole two chapters in two days thing going on, but my house lost power in a thunderstorm and I lost about half my chapter while I was typing it. Auto save saved the first part thankfully though, but I had to rewrite a lot. Hope you enjoyed the updated prophecy and this chapter. There will probably be a little Gluxa in the next chapter for all you fans. I set up the end of this chapter perfect for that heh heh heh. Oh, and as you guys can see, reviews make me happy, and make me update more. So the more reviews I get, the faster I write!)


	8. Enter Gluxa

Yay! It's time for another chapter already! Oh, and a quite note to two of my reviewers. Jaelebean, don't worry; I just needed some random Underlander to be a fill in. Eric doesn't play a big role in it; he has a role that you will find out later, but it's not very big. Cocpanys, I just want to thank you for the review and the idea with Howard. I will use that in this chapter lol; it will be great. Well, without further ado, here's chapter… eight? Yeah, I'm not really sure lol.

I do NOT own The Underland Chronicles! If you think I do then you're either not smart or think I'm Suzanne Collins in disguise because they belong to her. The only thing in my stories that I own are the plot and Eric so far.

* * *

Chapter Eight

"Wow, everyone sure seemed to leave in a hurry," said Gregor.

"Yes, it was quite strange," agreed Luxa.

"Well, now that they aren't around… There was something I've been wanting to tell you. I know it's been over three months already, but I still feel the same way about you as I did when I left. I even feel stronger about it now. I couldn't stand being away from you for all that time; it seemed like an eternity. I want to tell you this again Luxa. I love you." Gregor said. He was surprised at how easy it was for him to tell her even after being apart for all that time.

"Oh, Gregor, I feel exactly the same. I have felt alone without you down here. I missed you every day, and I thought about you every spare second I could. I've wanted to see you for so long, and now… it all feels so unreal, and wonderful. Gregor, I love you too." Luxa replied.

They looked each other in the eyes, and then they slowly reached toward each other, Luxa wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist. Then, they slowly leaned toward each other and kissed.

Howard entered the room already speaking, "Gregor, I have been informed that you were in this room and I wanted to discuss the journ-WHAT IN THE NAME OF SANDWICH?!" He stopped instantly at the sight of the two.

Gregor and Luxa instantly let go and stepped away from each other, looking down at the floor, red as cherries from embarrassment.

"What do you two think you are doing?!" questioned Howard angrily. "This is not acceptable behavior for the warrior and the queen! Besides, have you two forgotten that the council would never let an Overlander and Underland queen be together?!"

"But Howar—," Luxa was cut off.

"No excuses. I would keep going with reasons, but I need to get to the hospital. I will talk to both of you about this later. But I am not leaving you two alone." Howard gave two sharp whistles and a guard came running up.

"Would you please escort these two to the dining hall?" asked Howard. "I believe that dinner has been served and they are late." He told the guard calmly since he had no idea what was going on.

"Yes, right away, sir," said the guard. The guard waited for Gregor and Luxa and then started escorting them down to the dining hall.

Once they got there, dinner was already almost over. That was okay, because Gregor and Luxa weren't really hungry. After dinner was over, the group going on the journey went to the council room to discuss preparations. They discussed when they should leave on the journey for a while, they decided it would be best to leave as soon as possible, because Gregor's family above ground weren't expecting them to be gone for more than a day, which reminded Gregor that he should write them a note or something. They decided that three days would be a good amount of time, they could leave soon, but also stay for a little bit so Gregor and the other's could train. When they traveled, they would have the rats run, the humans and Temp fly on the bats along with the spinner who was going to go. Also, Megara, being the smaller bat would be the one to carry most of the supplies instead of riders. They dismissed the meeting and everyone headed to their rooms for the night.

"Listen, boy, you better wake up early so we can go down and practice. We have to review a lot of things. You better have not forgotten how to use echolocation. I don't want to have to teach you again, you're such a slow learner." Ripred told Gregor as they descended some stairs.

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry. I haven't been able to practice fighting in the Overland, but I have been practicing echolocation," replied Gregor, a little annoyed at Ripred's insults.

Suddenly, Gregor remembered that Grace was still in the dungeons and he hadn't visited her all day. He was very embarrassed and ashamed.

"Hey, Ripred!" Gregor said, "Can you take me to see my mom? Just for like five minutes."

"Fine, but no more than that, it took her all day to calm down, and I don't want her to get upset and create an uproar again," Ripred replied.

Ripred took Gregor down a lot of flights of stairs until he was finally down in the lower levels of the building. There was a guard by the door with keys that let Gregor into the cell. Gregor gasped as soon as he entered it. It was incredible! The room was larger than his whole apartment in the Overland. It had a special Underland carpet, furniture, another room set off as a bathroom; overall, it was just incredible. Gregor was expecting to see a fairly small room, similar to the one he stayed in for a few days, but maybe a bit larger and better, maybe with a window with bars and such. He was not expecting this when Ripred told the guards to take her to the best cell they had, but he was glad that she was getting such great treatment.

"Gregor? Is that you, baby?" Grace was getting up from a bed in the corner of the room.

"Yeah, Mom, sorry I didn't visit you sooner. How are you doing down here?" Gregor said sheepishly.

"Oh, thank goodness you're okay! Don't worry about me, I thought they would have made you leave on another one of those crazy prophecies! I just don't want to see you in anymore danger!" Grace cried, starting to sob softly.

"It's okay, Mom," said Gregor awkwardly, giving her a hug and patting her shoulder. He could see that her eyes were red from crying and her voice sounded a little hoarse, probably from yelling. He was never good at making people feel better, especially not when they were upset. "Listen, I hate going on these stupid journeys too, but it was worth it for me just to even see my friends. You have no idea how much they mean to me mom. They are still going to send me off on a journey in three days, but don't worry about me; I'll be fine. I'm in good company. They're going to take good care of you here Mom. Please don't try to worry too much about me."

Right then the guard walked in. "Overlander, I apologize, but your time is up. Ripred told me to send you off to your room after five minutes."

"I have to go Mom, I'll see you later," Gregor said to his softly sobbing mom as he was led out of the room, Grace calling after him.

The guard led Gregor to his room and left him there. It must have been one of the royal guest rooms, because it was just plain incredible. There were drapes, rugs, furniture, and different soft clothes everywhere. It was huge, way more space then Gregor would ever need. He decided to try and get some much needed rest for the day ahead. He changed into what he believed to be Underland pajamas which were left on the foot of the bed. He just lay there on his bed for about twenty minutes, but he just couldn't fall asleep. He just laid there staring at the ceiling, practicing some echolocation until someone slowly creaked open his door…

* * *

Woot another chapter done right away! Man I'm starting to really roll on this story! I LOVE MY REVIEWERS! You guys are so great. Your always super nice, even when you criticize my work, it's done in a kind way to help me get better at writing. THANK YOU! And thanks to ILikeAres, I've said it many times, but I'll say it again. You rule!


	9. Author Note

A quick note to everyone,

A quick note to everyone,

Hey, I know I haven't updated in like two and a half weeks or so, but that trend is ending! I finally got through a little writers block and found some time so I could right another chapter. It's not very good, but I will update more often. Also, I got a beta (ILikeAres) who rocks! She has already beta'd my submitted chapters and I'm putting in the revised versions. You should read them again if you want, they are much better thanks to her. The new chapter will be posted in the next day or two so be patient. Thanks!


	10. Howard's surprise

Chapter nine is finally here!! Okay, so yeah, sorry about not updating in like, forever, but I've been crazy busy. In fact, I'm writing this chapter right now during my lunch break, so it probably won't be that great or long since I don't have much time.

I don't own or claim to own the Underland Chronicles, you nitwits that think I do. They belong to Suzanne Collins!! DUH!!

Chapter Nine

* * *

The door slowly creaked open. "Who's there?" Gregor asked, a little scared.

"Gregor, it is just me," said a soft, melodic voice.

"Luxa! What are you doing here?" asked Gregor, extremely happy to see her.

"I wished to talk to you some more, we did not have very much time earlier," she replied. "I wanted to apologize for what happened earlier with your mother; I know it seems wrong to you, especially since you were locked in the dungeon for days, but it was for the best. Your mother may be upset at first, but sooner or later she will see that it was for the better. That is how I felt when you had me locked up."

"It's okay, Luxa; I already visited her and the room you guys have her in was incredible! I'm sure she'll be fine there," Gregor replied.

"I am glad that she will be fine, but what of you? You have told me that you wanted to return the Underland, but this is at the price of going on another prophecy's quest. I just want to tell you that I will not hold it against you if you want to return to your home. The council would try to stop you, but I would help you," Luxa said. She lowered her eyes and looked down when she said that, obviously sad at the idea, but still trying to hide it. Gregor thought she looked so beautiful, her long, glowing silver hair hanging down across her beautiful face with those shining eyes.

This is what she had told Gregor on his last prophecy where he almost died, but it didn't matter, because no matter what, he was going on it to help save the Underland from any crisis that would happen if they failed a prophecy. "Luxa, I would never even think of leaving you and running from another prophecy. I want to be down here so I can help you… and be with you." Gregor said.

Luxa just nodded and reached over and hugged Gregor. Gregor hugged her back for what seemed like an eternity, but he never wanted to let go.

They spent the rest of the night talking until they fell asleep in each others arms without even realizing it.

- - -

Gregor slowly opened his eyes. He blinked at looked left and right. He saw Luxa right beside him sleeping and breathing softly. He just smiled slightly and lay there beside her.

He shot up in the bed at the sound of someone stepping through the curtains which served as doors.

"Gregor, the breakfa-_Oh my Sandwich_!" shrieked Howard, sounding like a little girl. "_Luxa and Gregor what are you two doing_?!"

"Huh, what has happened?" said Luxa, sitting bolt upright. "Howard! What are you doing in these chambers without a word of warning?!" Luxa snapped at him. Then she slowly looked to her left and remembered that she was in Gregor's room. "Oh! Um, yes…." She muttered, trying to think of an excuse.

"Howard! This isn't what it looks like!" cried Gregor, embarrassed and scared. "We were just talking and we fell asleep!"

"Luxa! Head to your chambers now and go to breakfast. I must speak with Gregor." Howard said, a little bit more calmly, but still very angry.

Luxa was about to argue back, not being used to being bossed around, but found herself in no position to. So she slunk the room with her slightly tangles hair with one last apologetic look at Gregor.

Gregor turned and gulped. It looked like he was in for the lecture of his life.

* * *

So yeah, I made it short because I'm lazy and this is my third lunch break working on this chapter and it's almost over. Oh yeah, and thank ILikeAres for being my beta. She rules!! She beta'd all my chapters so I'm updating them without so many grammatical errors. Oh, and one last thing, I will be updating way more often when school starts, because I will have more free time. It starts in the middle of August for me so yeah, expect more updates. Oh yeah, one last thing I forgot. I want to apologize to people who think 'ew, Gregor and Luxa are too young to fall asleep in the same bed' and junk like that. I've been reading 'The Remembrance' by Seraphania aka _The Supreme One_ (if you haven't read it, read it now you fool! It's awesome!) and I keep thinking of Gregor and Luxa as like sixteen lol, but oh well. Oh and one last thing. I put a poll on my pathetic profile about my story and if I should make it two, three or just one. Please go vote on it so I can decide if this should have a sequal, a trilogy or whatever. Thanks to all my awesome reviewers, and anyone who reads my story!


	11. Training

Woot woot! Over 1,200 hits to this story! Thank you everyone!! As promised here is another chapter, and the wait wasn't super long this time!

I do not own the Underland Chronicles or any of its characters. I own the plot in my story, and Eric.

Oh and thank you Alice! (ILikeAres) Your like the most awesomest beta ever!! You always help me so much in my chapters. YOU ROCK!

* * *

Chapter Ten

Howard turned around after watching Luxa leave and faced Gregor with an icy stare that chilled him to the bone.

"Listen, Overlander, this was completely unacceptable, I wi—," Howard started, but was cut off by Gregor's scared yet defensive voice.

"Howard, listen to me! Nothing happened; we were just talking last night and we both accidentally fell asleep!"

Howard gave Gregor a look that silenced him. "Do not interrupt me, Overlander! I believe that you and Luxa did not partake in any…actions. Mostly because I know that she would never do such a thing, but it is not acceptable for the warrior and the queen to fraternize that way. Whenever I turn my back, it seems that you two are engaging in some sort of act of affection and it must stop!"

"But Howard," Gregor interrupted again, a little more aggressively this time, "Luxa and I love each other and you can't keep us apart!"

Howard sighed and put his hand on his forehead, "Gregor, listen to me. You may love each other, but it could never work out. It would destroy our monarchy if you came in. The royal blood would be carried on through Halflanders, and most of our people would not agree to be led by them."

Gregor blushed when Howard talked about Halflanders. He knew he was in love with Luxa, but he never even thought about…kids. He was just twelve…no, thirteen years old now. It was way too soon to be thinking about kids. Although he didn't know about what age Underlanders thought was okay to have kids; in fact, he didn't even know what age Underlanders would consider too early to marry.

"Also," Howard continued, "the council would go insane, I'm afraid that if Regalia was led by Halflanders, a rebellion would soon come. The council, and the people of Regalia want the blood line to stay pure. I'm sorry, Gregor, but you see, it would never work." Howard said, starting to change his look from an icy glare to more of a worried and stressed look.

"Howard, Luxa and I don't care what the council thinks, or what other people think! We love each other and we aren't going to let a bunch people stop us just because they don't want an Overlander and Underlander together!" Gregor retorted.

"Gregor! Do you not understand?! If you and Luxa were to be together, our monarchy, our royal bloodline, would fall apart!" Howard said, somewhat harshly. "From now on, I will have someone supervising you and Luxa at all times. I do not want any more fraternization between you two!" Howard finished. "Now it is time for breakfast; I suggest you hurry down and eat, you have training with Ripred right after it."

"But Howard," Gregor began, throwing his hands up.

"I will not have it, Gregor," Howard cut him off. "Now you must go and eat breakfast."

"Howard—," Gregor tried again, but the seventeen-year-old Underlander waved a warning hand to cut him off, then pointed at the curtained doorway, sending him off to breakfast.

- - -

At breakfast, Howard had made Gregor sit a few seats away from Luxa, and they all began eating. Gregor, who was used to cold cereal, was surprised at the surplus of fresh baked foods they had on the table. He realized though that they probably had no idea what cereal was since they had cooks ready to make fresh meals every day. There was fish, the usual meat they had, some special doughy pastries, similar to biscuits only much sweeter; they also had bread rolls and some sort of gravy to dip them in, and yet again, some milk from some sort of giant underground animal. The food was good though, and Gregor ate a lot, knowing he was going to need the energy for training with Ripred.

After Gregor was finished eating, he pushed back from the table and wiped his mouth with a white napkin. He announced he was going to train with Ripred and was responded to with a chorus of good-byes.

Gregor made his way down an empty hallway, admiring larger-than-life sized paintings of who he assumed were the previous kings and queens of Regalia. A woman with long, wavy silver hair and a bejeweled gold crown sat on a velvety-looking red throne in one painting; in another Gregor could see a man with a long mustache and droopy, almost blue eyes. Maybe he had been an earlier king since his eyes were hardly violet. Other pictures of the like hung large and proud on the stone walls. Gregor smiled, thinking soon enough a painting of Luxa would be up there, following the trend.

Gregor was interrupted by the sound of flapping and wind. He looked around and nearly bumped into Eric. Gregor wanted to make a good first impression, so he grinned broadly, leaned a hand against the wall, and said, "Hey, man, how's it going?" in the most cheerful voice he could manage.

"Oh, hello there, Gregor! It goes well for me. Poseidon and I were just going down to the arena to train a little bit for the journey ahead of us."

"Poseidon?" Gregor asked.

"Oh, how rude of me. My apologies. Poseidon is my bond here."

"Greetings," said the bat with a small nod. Poseidon was a fairly short bat, but he was husky, strongly built for his height. He looked strong, but not very agile to Gregor. He was a pure black so deep that you could get lost just staring at his fur. Gregor figured he didn't talk much since that was all he had said the whole time that they were standing there. It made Gregor cringe a bit, though, because he was a lot like Ares. Both the way he looked, except smaller, and the way he probably didn't talk much.

"So, how long have you and Poseidon known each other?" Gregor asked.

"We have known each other since early childhood, probably about fourteen years or so. We became bonds four years, three months and twenty-one days ago," Eric replied without even thinking.

"Wow! That's incredible!" Gregor exclaimed. "How do you remember that so well?"

"Bonding is one of the most important days in an Underlander's life, after all," Eric explained. Eric and Poseidon smiled at each other.

Gregor cringed a bit again, thinking of Ares and himself. "It was really nice to talk to you, but I gotta go down to train with Ripred or else I'll be late, and he doesn't like it when I'm late. I'll see you around," Gregor said as he started to continue on his way.

"Yes, good-bye Gregor," Eric replied back as they continued on their way also. Gregor finally arrived at the giant stone door that led down to the room where he and Ripred trained.

He pushed aside the bars that locked to door and opened it. He started to ascended the cold stone steps. He had to switch to echolocation after going down about fifteen feet of the spiral stair case, because there were no torches. As he finished climbed down the stairs, he walked into the large circular room. "Ripred? You here?" Gregor asked loudly, wondering where the rat was. There was no answer. Gregor saw something moving quickly behind him with his echolocation, he quickly whirled around, but not quick enough, the thing leaped on him and pinned him to the ground.

"You've been losing your touch," Ripred snarled into Gregor's face. Gregor winced and gagged at Ripred's breath, which smelled like extremely old shrimp. He got off of Gregor and let him stand up. "Listen, pup, you have a lot of training to do, and you have to always be vigilant. We don't want to be ambushed by any enemies while we are out there."

"Okay, okay, I know," Gregor said, annoyed at Ripred's ambush and then his chiding. He felt like it was adding insult to injury, but he decided to let it go.

Both of them trained for hours in that room, working on echolocation, sword techniques, dodging, and defending. As usual, Gregor was weak on his left side, so Ripred decided to try something new. "Gregor, have you ever used a shield?" he asked. "I know you never got used to the dagger, but you need some way of protecting your left side, and I think a shield would do just the trick, but it will slow you down a little bit." Ripred ran up the stairs and came back about five minutes later with a kite shield, slightly smaller than most so it would fit Gregor.

"Now let's try again, this time use your shield to fend of my claws." Ripred said as he lunged for Gregor again. Gregor tried to defend himself, but when Ripred hit his small shield, it flew away. Gregor heard a clang, not too far away, signaling that the shield had hit the stone floor. Ripred's claw gashed a cut on Gregor's leg. Gregor winced, but grabbed his shield and tried again. This time when Ripred came at him, the shield flipped up and hit his chin, and Ripred's claw got his arm. Gregor stopped at sat down after that, rubbing his slightly bloody arm and his red chin, wincing. "Listen, Boy! You have to hold on tight to that shield! Don't let it budge in anyway!" Gregor got up and grabbed his shield from the ground, grumbling a little bit. Ripred came at him again, but this time Gregor held the shield tight and didn't let it budge. Ripred's claws hit the shield… hard, and he lost his footing and stumbled. Gregor took this chance and pointed the sword in Ripred's face. "Well done, 'Warrior', now we can start training for real." Ripred did a quick spin and knocked the sword off of Gregor's hand and came at him. All Gregor could do was use the shield with both hands and defend Ripred while backing up until he finally hit the wall, then Ripred made a huge swipe with his claw that dug into the shield and sent it flying away. "Don't get too cocky, pup; you still have a lot training to do," Ripred snorted. Gregor picked up his sword and shield and started again.

- - -

It was supper time, and everyone was heading up to the dining hall to eat. Ripred was the first one there and was waiting at the table. Everyone else came up at the usual time and took their places, everyone except Gregor. "Where is Gregor?" Luxa questioned Ripred. Ripred finished polishing a plate of food off then answered after smacking his lips.

"Gregor? Oh, he is in the hospital right now getting bandaged up. He definitely needs more practice, but I don't think we will have enough time; I got him many times with my claws and he tired quickly. We practiced straight through lunch." Just as he finished, Gregor came walking up, limping a little bit. He had small bandages all over his arms and legs where Ripred had got him with his claws. None of them were serious though. With a nod and a wave to Luxa, Gregor took his place and started eating ravenously. Luxa looked at him worriedly, but continued eating. Supper went on for a little while, mostly quiet with no one really talking much.

After the supper was finished, everyone going on the quest and Vikus stayed after in the room to talk about plans. They were going to leave in two more days. They were going to train on flying and flight maneuvers on their bats tomorrow, and the day after, they were going to train with swords and weapons on their bats. After that they would head out. The journey was expecting to take anywhere between four days to a week. Like they had stated before, Howard, Luxa, and Gregor would go on Nike, Aurora, and Luxio, of course, at first, Eric and Poseidon would take Luxa and Aurora's place. Temp would ride with someone on a bat, Ripred and Lapblood would run, Megara would carry supplies, and they had finally decided on a spinner. His name was Polko. It turns out that he was Gox's son. Gregor remembered Gox from his first journey. He had gotten split in half by a rat tail, and Gregor had always remembered him. They all decided to go to their quarters after that and get some much needed rest, except Gregor. He was going to go visit his mother first.

- - -

Eric entered his room and quickly closed to curtain-doors. He took the soft spider silk pillows on his bed and put them under his blanket to look like he was asleep there. He then went into a closet and pulled out some jet black silky clothing. He replaced his old white silk clothes with them and then he hopped out the high window to his room and landed on Poseidon's waiting back. The fall was cushioned by Poseidon's soft fur that matched Eric's jet black clothing. They took off flying away from Regalia, swiftly and quietly.

They kept flying, staying low to the ground, being sure not to be seen. Eric's black silk garments helped him blend in with his bat, Poseidon. They kept on flying, camouflaged by the dark caverns they were flying through. They finally reached a cave about six miles away. They slowed down and cautiously entered it. It seemed eerie, and even darker than all the other caves. They landed on the cold, hard ground and Eric hopped off of Poseidon. There were stalactites hanging on the ceiling, dripping water off onto the ground where small puddles were forming. It was cold and clammy inside as they continued. As they walked deeper into the cavern two pairs of sharp claws shot out of the shadows and grabbed both their necks.

"Stop! It is just Poseidon and me!" Eric struggled to gasp out with the large, bloodstained claws squeezing his neck. The claws released them both and a large rat emerged from the shadows. He was covered with scars, and patches of his shining silver fur were missing from massive injuries to him. "I have come with news about the warrior and the others. They are about to begin their journey. You can soon have your revenge upon them… King Gorger."


	12. Author Note 2

Ok, here's the deal

Ok, here's the deal. I've been crazy busy with school, homework, and my job. I know I haven't updated in a long time and a lot of you are probably annoyed, but I will try to update at least once a week starting this Sunday, but I can't promise I will stay true to that. But I will tell you this, I won't give up on this story, I've had the perfect ending planned since before I even wrote the first chapter, but it's an ending that sets it up perfect for a sequel. Anyways, yeah, sorry again and I will update by Sunday.


	13. Arena Training

Okay, okay, it's way late I know, but I've run into many problems and stuff. Just a heads up, this isn't completely beta'd, I will update it and fix the errors when I can and junk, but I'm posting it half revised for now. I'm wondering what everyone thinks about me bringing Gorger back in, good, or too cliché to have an old enemy come back? Well, since it's already written I don't think I'll change it, but just wondering. And now, without further ado, here's chapter eleven.

I do not own the Underland stories, or the characters. I only own the plot, Eric, and all those other characters I added.

* * *

Chapter Eleven

Gorger was a grotesque looking gnawer. Back in his prime, he had a jet black coat with incredible sheen, but ever since his fall, he had taken on a whole new appearance. Both his eyes had red veins running so thick through them that it looked like he had no whites in his eyes, just red; they had become permanently blood-shot. The top chunk of his nose had been torn off, and the rest was smashed at an odd angle, which made it hard for him to use his sense of smell, which most gnawers depended heavily upon. His left ear looked fine and normal, but there was just a bloody, hairless stump where his right one had been. He was missing three appendages on his hind claws, and his teeth were all chipped with chunks missing in the oddest of places, but that only made them sharper and more lethal with the jagged edges. His chest and underbelly had an extremely long and deep scar running through it. There was no hair around it, showing his white skin. It had been stitched up very poorly, and now the thread from the stitching had fused in with his skin, making a dark purple crisscross imprint there also. Lastly was his tail, the pride of most gnawers. It had been ripped off from his body, leaving an indention above his rear. It had trouble healing, and you could always see bone and muscles around it.

Eric was doing his very best not to turn and gag and the sick sight of the one time handsome gnawer. He knew what his fate would be if he made any sign of distaste. Poseidon just kept a blank, uncaring stare.

"I see," Gorger started, his voice low and rasping, sending chills down Eric's and Poseidon's spines, "then, where are they going?"

"They are journeying to the Queen in two days," Eric informed the deadly gnawer. "They will be undergoing training tomorrow, and leave early the day after."

"Good, I will make sure I meet them there. I will make that warrior pay for what he did to me! I will have my soldiers waiting there for me. Make sure you do not let on anything about me; if you do, you will regret it. They all think I am dead and have probably forgotten about me."

"Do not worry; I will not let you down!" Eric responded.

"If you value your life, you won't. Now get your filthy faces out of my sight!" Gorger yelled, sending the pair dashing back to the entrance of the cave, tripping over a rock on his way out.

"Finally, I will make that warrior feel the pain I have endured for almost two years!" Gorger yelled to himself, and then started laughing.

* * *

"Warrior! Arouse yourself! Breakfast will begin shortly, and you must eat quickly. Ripred wants to train with you and the others in the arena right after," a servant spoke, loudly yet politely.

"Huh, what? Oh, uh, sure," Gregor said with half-closed eyes blinking. The servant left him and Gregor slowly pulled himself out of bed. He wondered how the Underlanders woke up every morning. They didn't have clocks, alarms, or the cliché roosters to wake them up. Heck, they didn't even have the sun. He decided he would ask Howard or Luxa later.

Gregor found a fresh pair of the silky clothes at the foot of his bed. He first went to the wash room connected to his room to use the bathroom. Then he walked over to a carved stone basin, big enough for someone to lay in, and about a foot and a half deep, with slow running water going through it. He took off his clothes and stepped into the warm water and relaxed for a minute. He turned and noticed a small basin carved in the side with a slippery and slimy thick green liquid in it. He figured this must be soap or something and quickly washed himself.

After bathing, Gregor stepped out of the bathtub dripping and took a silk towel hanging on the wall about three feet away. He quickly changed into his new set of clothes and started to head down to the dining hall for breakfast. He was starting to remember his way around the palace more and more, and easily found his way down for breakfast. He entered the dining hall, everyone was already there and had just started eating. With a nod and a wave to Luxa, he sat down in an open seat next to Ripred and Mareth.

"Greetings, Gregor. How did your sleep fare?" Mareth asked Gregor.

"Oh, hey, Mareth. It was good; I feel refreshed and ready for today's training," Gregor replied.

"I'd like to hear you say that halfway through the day," Ripred scoffed. "Because it won't be nearly as easy as it was yesterday! We are going to practice aerial maneuvers today on the fliers, and then we will through in sword techniques while on them."

"You mean, it's gonna be harder than yesterday?" Gregor gulped.

"Oh, yes, definitely," Ripred said, laughing at him.

The breakfast was fairly plain and quiet after that. Everyone just seemed content on eating their food.

* * *

After eating, Gregor started to head down to the arena with Luxa and Aurora.

"So, how's it going?" Gregor asked her.

"Fairly well, but Howard has not yet let me out of his sight. He can be extremely strict and over react at times," Luxa answered him.

"Yeah, I can unde—," Gregor was cut off, by a familiar clicking voice.

"Greetings Overlander, greetings! Fare you well, fare you?" Temp came walking up and joined them on their way down a wide stone, spiraling staircase.

"Hey, Temp!" Gregor greeted. "It's going pretty good. How are you doing?"

"Very well, I am doing. The princess, how is?" Temp asked.

"Oh, she is doing great. Boots is getting better at talking, and she's starting to say my name correctly, and she still hasn't forgotten about you."

"Very good, that is, very good. Coming, the others are, coming." Temp said to him. They heard a chatter of voices and turned to the left where Temp had come from. There, the other questers started filing out, talking to each other. First Howard and Nike stepped out, followed by Eric and Poseidon. Megara came next, followed by the much bigger Luxio. And lastly, Polko came scrambling through the passage way.

"Hey, guys," Gregor greeted them, "Hey, where's Lapblood?"

He got a chorus of greetings in return, then Eric answered his question. "She is already down in the arena, speaking with Ripred."

"Oh, okay, thanks," Gregor replied.

They all carried on their way down the staircase, then another hall that had purple silk drapes all over it, and they found a large balcony there. They all stepped onto it and took off on their fliers, carrying Temp and Polko.

* * *

They came up to the arena about after about five minutes of flying. Ripred was standing there next to Lapblood waiting for them. "Finally, the group is all here," Ripred said, somewhat annoyed, "now we can begin. First off, I want the snobby queen, the first aid boy, the so called "warrior", and the new guy, whom I shall come up with a nickname for later, to practice some aerial techniques with your bonds. And you, fliers, I want you to fly as hard as you can, switching directions constantly and looping. We need to make sure everyone can stay on their fliers decently. Also, Megara, I want you flying and seeing how agile you are when you are weighted down with supplies." Ripred told them all, after getting some glares for the name calling. "I will have Lapblood watching you and instructing you while I see what these useless hides can do." He finished talking to Polko and Temp.

They spent a couple hours flipping around and shooting this way on their fliers. Luxa was doing the best, with Aurora. They were definitely the most agile pair. They would fly headlong towards hanging stalactites and then do a barrel roll out of the way last second to dodge it. Howard was also doing well on Nike. They weren't quite as agile as the other pair, but they could go faster and stronger. They would fly towards a wall going extremely fast and then instantly change direction without missing a beat. Gregor and Luxio, however, were having the hardest time. Gregor, having not flown in a long time kept falling off, always to be caught be Luxio. Luxio, was also not used to flying with a passenger, since he had not yet bonded. However, Luxio was the fasted bat out of all of them, and he also had the most endurance. While they were flying about, Ripred was working with Polka and Temp, showing them how they could be useful in battle. Polka would definitely be the more helpful of the two if they needed to fight, so Ripred was showing Temp how he could protect Polko, using his tough shell as a shield for both of them. And while Temp would protect him, Polko could use his web to make bandages, shoot at enemies, not to hurt them but to distract them or get in their way. But all in all, if it came down to it, they really couldn't do much, fighting wise.

* * *

After a few more hours, a group of servants on fliers came down, carrying food for the group. They all took a break to eat and rest for a little while. It was fairly silent during the meal, most of them just eating and relaxing, preparing to practice again soon. After they all finished eating, Ripred announced what would happen next. They would now practice fighting while flying. Everyone human would be equipped with a sword and they would hit blood balls in the air while flying, they would also defend or dodge webs being shot up by Polko. Megara would just try to dodge everything, and claw a blood ball here and there if she could, and Luxio was going to have the added weight of Temp. Ripred also had brought the shield down for Gregor to use. They all mounted they bats and shot up into the air, while Ripred and Lapblood started to launch up blood balls, and Polko started to shoot his web at them. It was going fairly well, they all would hit some of the many thrown up, but when ever a bat got hit by a blood bally, it would make their wings sticky and hard to move and fly until the rider could cut the web. Gregor managed to block some of the web with his shield, but they whenever a blood ball hit it, they would stick, soon, the front of Gregor's shield was covered with blood balls making it heavy and hard to maneuver. They kept practicing like this, being careful not to hit each other for hours. Finally, Ripred called it to a stop. They all landed down around him.

"Ok, listen up. We are leaving early tomorrow morning and you all know the drill right? Luxa, you will see them all off, then rush to Ares' cave with Aurora, and Eric, you and Poseidon will switch places with Luxa and Aurora and wait at the cave. I will have one of my underlings come often to bring you food and water. And the rest of you, rest up well. It is going to be a long journey. I already had supplies ready for us. Now go, sleep and get ready." Ripred finished, sending them all back to the palace.

* * *

When all of them had gotten back, they said their good-byes and started heading to their quarters. Gregor decided it would be best to give his mom one last visit, before he went to bed. He made his way down the twisting corridors till he found the cell where his mother was being held. He went up to go in, but was stopped by the guards. "Our apologies Overlander, but you are not allowed to make visits anymore. It is too close to the journey and we fear that your mother might create a huge tantrum."

"What? Are you serious!?" Gregor responded somewhat angrily. "I just wanted to see her one last time before I left!"

"We are sorry Overlander, you cannot." they responded.

"Isn't there anything I can do?" Gregor asked, still angry.

"If you wish, you could right a note to her, and we could give it to her after your departure." One of the guards responded.

"I guess that's better than nothing," Gregor mumbled. "Do you guys have anything I can write with?"

"Yes, right here," One of them replied pulling a parchment from his back pocket, with what seemed to be some sort of pen.

"Ok, I guess this will have to do," Gregor replied, still grumpy. He began to write a letter to his mom, hoping she wouldn't get too upset.

_Dear mom,_

_I'm sorry I couldn't visit you again, the guards wouldn't let me so I have to write you this letter instead. I'm leaving on another quest tomorrow morning, but don't worry mom, I'll be ok. I'm in good company, and we will all protect each other. I'll try to be back as soon as possible. Please don't worry too much about me. I love you._

_Gregor_

Gregor gave the guards the note and then went back up the stairs and corridors to his room. He lay on the bed, his mind filled with thoughts and worries. The journey ahead, his mom in the cell, the prophecy, and Luxa were all flowing through his head. After lying there for about ten minutes, he finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Ok, so there is my new chapter. Tell me what you guys think. They are going to begin the Journey during the next chapter. Man, it's been too long since I wrote a chapter. I kept calling the animals rats and bats instead of gnawers and fliers lol. And yes I know, I am not that good at crawler, I keep making Temp sound like Yoda lol.


	14. Leaving

Yup, I haven't updated in almost a month. Sorry guys, but yeah, it's hard to find the time to put into this stuff. So I put a little Gluxa in this chapter to make up for my lack of updates. I'll update again whenever I have the time and feel like it. PS this chapter has not been beta'd yet, I'm too impatient to wait lol so I posted it right away, so yes, after the first couple paragraphs, it gets more and more poorly written, cause I was tired and kind of rushing through it.

Disclaimer-I do not own the Underland Chronicles or any of the characters in them. The only things I own in my writing are my original characters and the plot, so don't steal them.

* * *

Chapter Twelve

Gregor's dreams were troubled again. Whenever he dreamt it was always the same. It was a reoccurring dream that came again and again, time after time. Each time he dreamt though, it was more vivid and horrific.

Gregor was dragged before the council. Their furious violet eyes stared through his, seemingly into his own soul. He had to turn away; he couldn't look into their seething eyes, which just made him look even guiltier. Finally, after staring him down for a little while, which actually seemed like an eternity for Gregor, a silver haired, older woman spoke. She seemed to be the leader among the rest of them.

"Gregor the Overlander!" She began, in a harsh loud voice that could be heard throughout the entire room and even into the hallways outside. "We have thought through this trail. We have found you guilty of treason against Regalia, for causing the death of queen Luxa!"

"Wait! Listen to me! I would never try to harm Luxa ever! She meant the world to me! I would have given up my own life to save hers if I could have! You don't understand… I … I loved her." Gregor pleaded to the hardened council.

"Overlander! There shall be no more words from you! You have no right to speak anymore! The trial has ended and we have found you guilty. Your sentence is death!" And with that, the council woman clapped and two bulky guards with long grey hang to their shoulders came and dragged Gregor away by his bound arms, legs dragging behind.

"No! You can't do this to me! There wasn't anything I could do!" Gregor screamed as he was dragged away. Just as he was rounding a corner, he could have sworn he saw a smile on the face of the council woman that had been furious just a second before. Several of the Regalia citizens in the council room looked aghast and sympathetic towards the doomed warrior, but most of them looked with hatred burning so great that their eyes looked almost more red the purple.

Gregor started kicking and struggling against his captures as they started to drag him away. He screamed to them, trying to convince them.

"It wasn't my fault! Please, just listen to my story just once! If I would have saved her, then all the others and you would have been-," BAM!! One of the guards had hit Gregor hard in the head with the handle of his sword after hearing enough, knocking him out.

* * *

Gregor slowly opened his eyes. He was lying on the ground. He sat up, realizing that it must've all been a dream, but then he looked around. There were seemingly thousands of Regalians around him. He looked behind himself and saw that the ground abruptly ended, into what seemed like a bottomless chasm. He groaned as he realized that it was all real.

Suddenly he was grabbed from behind and stood up. The two guards that dragged him off before were now pushing him towards the cliff. Gregor could hear the chants of the angry Regalians all around him. It started out small, but soon grew to an almost deafening roar. Finally he was pushed about six inches from where the cold stone floor stopped. He turned around, giving one last pleading look to everyone around him. His look was met with cold unmoving eyes, as he was giving one shove and toppled over the edge.

He fell, gaining speed. He started having all the falling moments of his life flash before his eyes. When he fell off the jungle gym as a five year old, falling from an oak trees branch when he was climbing, trying to get to a squirrel when he was seven, falling off the high dive the first time he tried it, falling through the grate in his laundry room, and most vividly, he remembered falling off the cliff, with an army of gnawers, led by Gorger, chasing after him. The only difference in that fall was that Ares was there to save him. Ares, name flashed in Gregor's mind and he yelled out for him, but soon realized his foolishness. There was no one to save him this time. In fact there really was no one to save him ever. He now felt alone in this world. His love had died, his best friend and bond had died, most of his other friends hated him and were dead to him now, and soon, he would be dead too. He closed his eyes, ready to accept his fate.

* * *

Gregor slowly opened his eyes. He was lying on the soft silk sheets in his Underland room. He slowly swung his legs to the side of his bed and hunched over. He put his face in his hands and quietly cried. The dream was too much, he couldn't handle it all.

He sat there trembling and weeping silently for a couple minutes before he heard the silk curtain that served as a door in his room rustling. He quickly put his hands down and looked away, not wanting to be seen like this. Luxa entered his room, checking behind her as she stepped in.

She started talking before she turned around, "Gregor, arouse yourself, we shall be eating soon, and leaving shortly af… Gregor! Are you ok? Have you been injured?" She ran up to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's nothing." Gregor replied in a shaky voice, putting his hand on his forehead, trying to hide his face.

Luxa sat beside him on his bed and just wrapped her arms around him. Gregor leaned against her and hugged her back. They sat there silently comforting each other for about five minutes before Luxa broke the hug. "Gregor, I'm sorry, but I have to move down to breakfast, if I don't soon they shall start searching for me. Please, come down to eat with me shortly."

With that, Luxa got up and left with one last sad and caring look towards Gregor. Gregor got up out of his bed, and went to the wash room connected to his room. He quickly got into the bathtub like stone and bathed quickly, washing his face. He finished up and got dressed, feeling a bit better, the dream was wearing off. He quickly headed down to breakfast where the others had probably already started.

Gregor started heading down the stair toward the dining hall. He rounded the corner as saw everyone else starting to take their places. He spotted Luxa, and she saw him too, giving him a smile. Then Howard came up and started to sit next to Luxa as usually, but Luxa turned and gave him such a fierce glare, that he backed up a few steps and chose another seat.

"Come Gregor! There is a spot next to me that you may take!" She called out to him. Gregor went over and sat down. The breakfast was served, it was the normal, with the pastries and meats. Gregor started eating his food, he wasn't very hungry, but he knew he needed it. It wasn't easy though, because he could feel Howard's icy glare on him and Luxa the whole meal.

Once everyone had finished eating, Luxa began speaking to them all. "Well, the journey is to begin shortly. We should all be up in the main hall and ready to leave in ten minutes. Aurora and I shall be there to see you off."

With that, everyone finished up, and headed off to grab their supplies and head to great hall. It was fairly frantic around the palace, with people running everywhere, trying to get ready for the departure, but in ten minutes, they were all up at great hall ready to go. The council was there, along with Vikus to see them off. There were also some of their friends like Mareth and Dulcet.

Luxa said a farewell to them all as they were ready to set off. "Farewell friends. May you be fruitful and successful in your journey. May no harm befall any of you, and may you all return safely to us. Fly you high." And with that, they all took off on their arranged fliers. Luxa turned to Vikus and the Council.

"Please excuse me, I have many things that I must do quickly." With that, she quickly set off down the twisting corridors of the palace. She quickly took the hallways less traveled so no one would see her, then she entered the old nursery. She went over to the old turtle stature and pulled the switch in its mouth. She continued down into the secret corridor until she found the opening that led outside of the castle. She called out for Aurora and heard the bat's familiar soft voice right below her. Luxa jumped. She was easily caught and they rushed off towards Are's cave.

Gregor and the others traveled in relative silence. When they were about twenty miles away from Regalia, Eric and Poseidon turned to them all.

"Well, I guess this is a good place for us to head out to the cave. Good luck to you all and fly you high." They shot off to the left and the others continued on, a little slower so that Luxa could catch up.

* * *

Eric arrived in Are's cave. There was a good amount of food and water stocked up there for about a week. He recalled Ripred saying he would be some gnawers in to check on him. He was worried about this. King Gorger might also have gnawers come to check up on him also, which would be bad if they both ran into each other.

"It is of no matter," Eric thought to himself, "Gorger's gnawers are smart, they will just play along."

Eric and Poseidon sat there, in the cave, wishing they had brought some sort of means to entertain themselves. Suddenly, three gnawers poked their heads around the entrance and walked up to them.

"Gorger has sent us to check up on you." The biggest one spoke, in a rasping voice. "Have you completed your task?"

"Yes," Eric replied, "I have gone with them for a short while and now they are on their way to the queen."

"Excellent," the gnawer replied, "now he has sent us with one more task for you."

"What's that?" Eric asked.

"Die!" the gnawer yelled, then all three of them leapt onto Eric and Poseidon before they had a chance to do anything.

* * *

So what do you think of my new chapter? Good, bad? Anyways, you should check out my song-fic, A Million Miles Away. Just click on my name to see my profile and you can see it under the stories I've written. You guys should leave a comment on it, cause I don't know if it's good or bad.


	15. Last Document

Heh, heh, what's up guys? A lot of you are probably mad at me for not updating in a super long time, sorry. Anyways, here's the deal. I was thinking of my story and re-reading the real Underland books and got to thinking. My fanfic is not what it should be. I've decided to scrap this one and start anew. Don't freak out or anything, it will follow basically the same story line, it's kind of like what Seraphania is doing, only not nearly as good as her. In other words, I'm redoing my story, making it more realistic to the books. This will mean less of my dumb attempts as humor, less OOC moments, and probably a little less gluxa also, sorry, but it should also be way better than the original. You can expect the first chapter to be out around Christmas time with another chapter added either weekly or every other week. I just wanted to say thanks to all my fans that have left me wonderful comments and motivated me through this. Hopefully my new story will be way better than this one.

~Thomas


End file.
